Petrol to Decrease by 4 Cents, While Diesel Goes Up by 22 Cents from Wednesday 6 October

The Energy Department has announced that the price of 93 octane petrol will decrease by 4 cents per litre from Wednesday, 6 October while 95 octane will decrease by 1 cent per litre.

The prices of both grades of diesel (0.05% sulphur) and (0.005% sulphur) increases by 22.8 cents per litre while illuminating paraffin will increase by 32 cents per litre.

The price of LP gas decreases by 7 cents per kg.

The Energy Department says the main reason for the fuel price adjustments is the average Brent Crude oil price increased from 72.50USD to 75.50USD per barrel during the period under review. 

It says the Rand also appreciated, on average, against the US Dollar (from 14.77 to 14.56 Rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one. 

“The Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s latest data suggested that the crude oil inventories in the United States of America were 414 million barrels which is about 8% under the five-year average for this time of the year. It is expected that the natural gas crunch in Europe will spill over to other countries and lead to higher oil prices.”

The department says in line with the Working Rules to determine the Basic Fuels Prices (BFP), the 95 octane (unleaded) grade is the price-marker grade and the BFP-differential between 95 and 93 octanes is adjusted on the first Wednesday of each quarter.

“The BFP Octane differential has changed during the previous quarter and therefore the retail prices of 95 and 93 petrol octanes will be different in each fuel- pricing zone with effect from 06 October 2021.”

South Africa’s fuel prices are adjusted on a monthly basis, informed by international and local factors.